Xuan Yue City was under the jurisdiction of the Nanyang Sect.
Among the many vassal forces, it was one of the few willing to provide a place to reside for the common people.
It was for this reason, with an extensive dominion that included a whopping three hundred cities, that they had a relatively high number of conflicts with demons, but fortunately, they had once been under the protection of the Heavenly Sword Sect and had avoided any major incidents.
The only accident occurred when the Heavenly Sword Sect was handing them over to the Nanyang Sect, and they were targeted by a Turtle Demon under the command of the seven Dragon Descendants of the Ke Family, who tried to force marriage upon the City Lord’s daughter, nearly turning the Aquatic Race into a puppet of the demons.
Fortunately, Sect Master Shen personally intervened and quelled the storm.
As more and more news came in, City Lord Yin couldn’t help but watch as the young Sect Master climbed his way to the sky, step by step, to stand shoulder to shoulder with the other Sect Masters.
During the Seven Sons Grand Assembly, he even displayed shocking ruthlessness, solidifying his position as Sect Master by killing the Heavenly Sword Sect Elder, Liu Xingshan.
This was tremendously good news for Xuan Yue City.
Logically, under the protection of such a prodigious young Sect Master, the future path of Xuan Yue City should have been smooth sailing.
But he had not expected that, in just a short period, Southern Hong would have changed so drastically.
Within the City Lord Mansion, Yin Qizhang leaned on his chair, continuously rubbing the letter that had come from the Immortal Sect, although he had read it many times over and could recite it fluently, he still refused to put it down.
Yin Yajun looked at the now-cold cup of green tea on the table and walked over slowly, intending to replace it for her father.
"No need, I’ll go out and have another look."
Yin Qizhang slightly raised his hand, closed his eyes, and silently recited a few words from the letter in his mind: Be extremely careful.
He stood up, his face bearing a tinge of bitterness.
As the only Baiyu Capital Cultivator in this place, Yin Qizhang knew better than anyone how dangerous the situation had to be for the Seven Immortal Sects to send such a message.
These seemingly useless four words were also the only thing he could do at the moment.
Yin Yajun hesitated for a moment but still spoke softly, "Even Sect Master Shen can’t protect us?"
When she was sent into the great sedan by the Turtle Demon, it was just a fleeting glimpse, but she had etched the figure in the dark garments into her memory.
Later, she had the opportunity to accompany her father to the Seven Sons Grand Assembly.
At the assembly, the young man’s dark robes had been replaced by a wide Nanyang white robe, shining like the radiant sun, seated above the Heaven Rank, entrancing onlookers.
It was hard for her to imagine that there was anything in the world that the young Sect Master couldn’t accomplish.
Upon hearing this, Yin Qizhang’s figure paused slightly, and after a long moment of contemplation without a response, he could only offer a resigned smile.
The letter represented the will of the seven Sect Masters, and Sect Master Shen, who Xuan Yue City relied upon, was the youngest and least experienced among them, probably even more helpless than the Seven Sons of Hong in this situation.
Yin Qizhang stepped out of the hall, trying to maintain an optimistic attitude, but the reality was if a real demon calamity were to strike, the much larger-scale Xuan Yue City, compared to other vassal forces, would certainly be a prime target for the demons.
With this thought, he soared into the air, his gaze sweeping around.
For some reason, perhaps due to the immense pressure, Yin Qizhang, a Cultivator of considerable boundary, felt a rare chill, instinctively wanting to wrap his clothes tighter around him.
He took a deep breath and, as his palm touched his collar, the City Lord finally realized something was amiss.
Bending his finger to his nose, he gently wiped it, catching sight of the glaring red on his knuckle, realizing that his nose had bled due to the peculiar coldness, which had frozen into a crystalline form before it could even drip.
As one of the top four vassal forces under the Nanyang Sect, City Lord Yin had seen many terrifying Great Demons, but at this moment, he looked towards the vast expanse of the Wang Yang which Xuan Yue City was backed against, stupefied.
After spotting the endless, empty waterscape,
Shock and fear rapidly replaced the bewilderment in his eyes.
Yin Qizhang quickly turned around, looking desolately at the three hundred cities behind him, his figure suddenly stooped with age.
Clearly, Xuan Yue City had been targeted by the demons, and they weren’t even qualified to catch a glimpse of the adversary!
"What should I do now... How can I be careful..."
Yin Qizhang muttered to himself, his hoarse voice filled with profound bewilderment and despair.
Meanwhile, in the expansively unseen waters, a gaunt figure descended slowly from the Sky Curtain, his tattered clothes fluttering in the wind, his dirty feet dangling and his strange toes lightly touching the surface of the water.
In a flash, an invisible ripple quickly spread across the water, stirring up emerald waves that silently solidified into ferocious claws!
In the blink of an eye, a thousand miles were encased in ice.
With a teeth-grating noise, it was as if a Cold Mountain had materialized out of thin air!
While taking the lives of all the Aquatic Race within its range, the frosty chill sped towards Xuan Yue City at a visible rate.
The Ancestor stepped on the icy mountain, advancing steadily without rush.
The breath of those beings gathered from within the ice, flowing into his soles, lending vitality to his withered body.
"I’ll give you a heads-up; the Ancestor is really hungry, don’t tempt me anymore."
He turned his head towards a certain direction, cracked a smile revealing ugly teeth, and let out a somewhat mockingly cold laugh.
The direction in which the Cold Mountain Ancestor looked, no one knew how far apart it was.